After slaying all those wolves, Arthur could feel he was close to reaching level 2. That was excellent—every level meant more points to distribute among his attributes, and the increase in power was significant.
The goblin leader looked at Arthur and said, "Good work. I don't know how you summoned those other goblins, but thank you for helping us defend the tribe."
Not only him, but all the goblins came to thank Arthur—the warriors, the women, the children, and even the few elders. Everyone was grateful for his aid.
"It was nothing," Arthur replied. "I had to help somehow. But tell me, don't you think the location of this tribe is a bit… bad?"
Arthur glanced around. The small settlement sat on flat ground, exposed and vulnerable. Any hunter exploring the dungeon could easily spot it. Ideally, the tribe should have natural defenses or camouflage to protect them.
The goblin leader nodded. "I know it would be better to live elsewhere, but we don't have enough warriors to make the journey. Leaving here would mean our death."
As a small tribe, their fighting force was limited. Relocation was impossible. But with Arthur—and the goblins he had summoned—the situation could change.
"What if I help?" Arthur asked. "Do you know of any good place to build a new base?"
The goblins knew the dungeon far better than Arthur. His connection to it didn't mean he understood its full layout.
"My grandfather once told me a story," the leader said. "He spoke of a valley with a tall mountain, where a goblin tribe lived long ago. It might be an interesting place."
While the tribe's leader spoke, Arthur couldn't help but notice the unease among the other goblins. They were grateful for his help, for defending their home—but the idea of leaving the place they had lived in for so long felt wrong to them.
"What do you think about moving there?" Arthur suggested to the leader. "With these goblins helping us, the journey will be possible."
The goblin leader seemed excited by the idea, but he didn't give a definitive answer.
"I need to speak with the others first. Can you give me some time?"
"Of course, no problem."
All the goblins of the tribe gathered inside the largest hut to hold their meeting. Arthur chose not to join them—he wanted them to feel free in their discussion.
Instead, he looked around at the massive group of goblins he had summoned. Their eyes were fixed on him with a different kind of gaze—one of reverence.
Arthur knew very well that if he asked anything of them, they would obey without hesitation. It was as if he commanded his own private army.
He frowned, his expression thoughtful yet troubled.
"I need to move these goblins out of here. If I can expand their tribe, I can secure a huge amount of EXP."
As Arthur reflected, he could hear fragments of the conversation inside the tribe. The goblins—especially those who weren't warriors—sounded nervous.
"He smells like us, speaks our tongue, has pointed ears… but is he really one of us, Gyakk? Look at his size! How can he be one of us?"
When goblins grew too anxious, they often slipped "Gyakk" into their sentences. Arthur found it a little amusing, though the goblin's words carried truth.
They trusted him because of his scent. It was the same as theirs. And scent—the aura of certain creatures—was nearly impossible to fake. To them, Arthur was simply a different kind of goblin.
The tribe's leader listened to all their frustrations.
"But this could be our chance to move," he said firmly. "You know it's only a matter of time before this tribe is destroyed… Do you want that? Do you remember what happened to my cousin?"
The atmosphere grew tense after the tribe leader mentioned his cousin. That cousin had lived in another goblin tribe, one destroyed by humans who came to explore the dungeon.
The worst part was that the destroyed tribe hadn't been far from here—and its layout was almost identical.
Hearing this, the goblins grew thoughtful, leaning toward Arthur's proposal.
"Gyakk, how confident are you that we'll reach the new place safely?" one goblin asked the leader.
"With all those goblins helping us? The chances are high. And I don't want to scare you, but the chances of survival if we stay here are very low…"
The wolf attack hadn't been the first. Others had happened before—including one by a human hunter. Luckily, that hunter had been low-level and was killed.
But goblins who went hunting had noticed tracks in the forest—signs that humans were moving nearby.
It was only a matter of time before a stronger hunter found the tribe and wiped them out.
While Arthur waited outside, the system finally delivered his mission rewards.
[Mission Complete]
[+250 EXP]
[+30 Copper Coins]
[+1 Goblin Basic Spear]
[Level Up]
Arthur had gained enough experience to advance to Level 2.
The copper coins were stored within the system, usable in special shops back on Earth. The spear given to him before the battle was now officially his.
But among all these rewards, the most valuable were his new level—and the skill he had unlocked during the fight. Both were priceless.
Arthur now had five points to distribute among his attributes. But he chose to wait. He still needed to understand the best fighting style for his class.
Was it magical? Physical? Focused on speed or raw strength? Since his class was a rare SSS rank that no one knew about—not even him—it was difficult to decide.
"Maybe I'll have to take a risk and see what happens…" he thought.
While he pondered, the goblins returned from their meeting. To his relief, they had decided to leave the settlement.
"We'll prepare our things and depart soon. Is that alright?" the goblin leader asked.
"Of course, no problem," Arthur replied.
The goblins worked together to gather supplies for the journey. Arthur was excited—he couldn't hide it. If everything went well, he would have many goblins working under him, earning him plenty of experience to level up further.
"We're ready," the leader declared.
Arthur and the goblins left the tribe, heading toward the mountains.
But thirty minutes after their departure, a group of hunters arrived at the abandoned settlement. One of them was level 10—far stronger than Arthur.
"How strange…" the hunter muttered. "The goblins left this tribe for some reason. That's not common. Could this be some kind of special event?"
"I don't know," another hunter replied. "But it won't hurt to follow them and find out."